Amber Rudd hits out at Brexiteers and insists the cabinet ARE united on what our EU exit will look like

The Home Secretary said that some 'form of customs arrangement' would probably be needed after we leave the EU - which will anger Brexiteers who want to be able to make wide trade deals after we leave

By Natasha Clark

4th February 2018, 12:27 pm

Updated: 4th February 2018, 4:14 pm

By Natasha Clark

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AMBER Rudd has insisted the cabinet are "more united" than Brexiteers think about our EU exit - as she hit back at reports of plots to oust the Prime Minister.

The Home Secretary risked infuriating Brexit-supporting MPs by saying that a "form of customs arrangement" would be needed when we leave the bloc, even though it would restrict our ability to do trade deals in some sectors.

BoJo told one plotter he would be “ready” for a leadership battle and insisted the “cavalry is coming” to stop the plan, it was reported.

Tory rebels are threatening to try and keep the UK in a customs union with the EU - which would mean we couldn't sign some forms of trade deals with other countries.

But Ms Rudd said today that a deal would probably involve a form of customs "arrangement" or "partnership" with the EU - and the Prime Minister had an "open mind" about how to do this.

"We a want frictionless trade at the border, we want to make sure that there is no border on the island of Ireland and we want to make sure that we can do trade deals outside of the European Union. That is the deal we are looking for," she said.

"We need to have this wider agreement. I don't know how far that will go over the next few weeks but I hope the Government will be give the space to try and achieve that."

Home Secretary Amber Rudd says Britain will 'absolutely grow' after Brexit depending on the actions we take

But she also said that ministers would be pushing for a bespoke agreement to let us enjoy frictionless trade AND the ability to strike our own deals.

Ms Rudd also took aim at Jacob Rees-Mogg, saying she was "surprised" at his comments accusing the civil service as trying to "fiddle the figures" and stop Brexit.

"I think he is wrong here. We need to have these forecasts when we embark on big policy decisions."

However, Housing Minister Dominic Raab told Sky News today that he doesn't think the UK will be any form of customs union as it currently stands - hinting that a unique deal which allows us to both will be pushed for.

"I don't think we will be in any form, at least as conceived in international trade practise, a customs union," he said.

"If we were we would have our hands tied in doing trade deals with other parts of the world."

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